The man at the center of the performance-enhancing drug scandal that engulfed Major League Baseball a year ago faces federal charges of conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids.

Anthony Bosch, the man at the center of baseball's doping scandal, has turned himself into the DEA. Could that have implications for star slugger Alex Rodriguez? Zeughauser Group legal analyst Kent Zimmermann joins the News Hub with Sara Murray. Photo: Getty Images.

Anthony Bosch, who operated the now-defunct South Florida anti-aging clinic that distributed banned drugs to athletes, was taken into custody early Tuesday in Weston, Fla.

Federal prosecutors in Miami charged Mr. Bosch and six others with conspiring to distribute steroids to high-school and professional athletes. Among the athletes alleged to have received steroids from the group were Major League Baseball players, said Mark Trouville, the Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge of the Miami division.

Mr. Bosch will plead guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors in return for a recommendation of a reduced sentence, according to court papers.

Another one of the men facing charges is Yuri Sucart, the cousin of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is under a one-year suspension from MLB for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs supplied by Mr. Bosch.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Bosch said he turned himself in Tuesday morning. She declined to comment further.

A spokesman for Mr. Rodriguez didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Mr. Bosch was the proprietor of the Biogenesis clinic, whose ties to athletes were detailed in a Miami New Times article in early 2013.

After MLB launched an investigation, Mr. Bosch became a key informant for the league, which suspended Mr. Rodriguez and 13 other players for their ties to Mr. Bosch. In January, he told the CBS News program "60 Minutes" that he supplied Mr. Rodriguez with testosterone, human growth hormone and other banned substances from 2010 through 2012. Mr. Rodriguez has denied the allegations.

Two men—Mr. Sucart and Juan Carlos Nunez—allegedly recruited most of Mr. Bosch's clients, according to a statement of facts agreed to by both Mr. Bosch and prosecutors and filed in court along with his plea agreement.

Mr. Nunez previously worked as a consultant for the Aces agency, which represents many prominent players. His attorney couldn't be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Mr. Bosch wasn't a doctor, but he introduced himself to clients as Dr. Tony Bosch or Dr. T, according to the statement of facts. He also told professional athletes that he knew how to get around team tests. In return, they paid him up to $12,000 a month, court papers said.

Sometimes, Mr. Bosch got steroids by forging doctors' signatures on prescriptions. Other times, he turned to the black market—a dangerous move, according to the DEA's Mr. Trouville.

Drugs sold there can come from "some clown in his basement with a bucket and a burner and a very limited knowledge of chemistry," Mr. Trouville said at a news conference Tuesday.

Mr. Rodriguez initially denied having any relationship with Mr. Bosch last year. Later, his attorney said Mr. Rodriguez only took nutritional supplements from Mr. Bosch.

MLB initially tried to suspend Mr. Rodriguez last summer for 211 games, but an arbitrator reduced the ban to 162 games, covering all of the 2014 season.

Mr. Sucart's attorney, Jeffrey Cox, said he was still gathering information on the charges and declined to immediately comment. Mr. Sucart gained notoriety when Mr. Rodriguez admitted in 2009 he had taken steroids. He said that from 2001 to 2003, when he was with the Texas Rangers, Mr. Sucart would travel to the Dominican Republic to obtain the banned drugs and then inject Mr. Rodriguez with them himself.

Professional athletes weren't the only users of steroids distributed by Mr. Bosch and his alleged co-conspirators, according to court papers. Biogenesis also sold testosterone to high-school athletes in South Florida for between $250 and $600 a month between 2008 and 2012.

In March 2011, the group created a company that worked with agents who back young baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic, in hopes that they would sign a large major-league contract in the U.S. The group brought syringes full of testosterone and fake documentation from Miami to the Dominican Republic, where Mr. Bosch would inject them into players, according to the document he signed.

The company was eventually asked to leave the Dominican Republic, according to court papers. Mr. Ferrer, the Miami U.S. attorney, declined to answer a question at a news conference about whether any of the players ended up signing with major league teams.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.